Timing is Everything
by pale rose fire
Summary: After the prefectural meet, Rin moved back to Australia. Then an earthquake hit Iwatobi. Now Rin doesn't know if his sister or his old friends are dead or alive and is frantic to find out.
1. Chapter 1

Full Summary: After the prefectural meet, Rin went back to Australia. Soon after, an earthquake struck Iwatobi, followed by a tsunami. Rin received a call and a few texts from Gou after the earthquake, but he sent his sister's call to voicemail and didn't bother to look at her texts until four hours later. He hasn't heard from her, or any of his childhood friends since. Rin used to think that swimming and improving his times was the only thing that mattered. Now he knows better, but is it too late?

Rated T for Rin's potty mouth and mention of some bad injuries obtained during and after the earthquake.

* * *

When you run the numbers it looks so clinical and detached. Rin didn't exactly find it easier to deal with what happened that way. It was just the only way he _could_ deal with it. For so long, the only thing important in his life had been his swimming, and had been measured by times, by minutes, and seconds, and fractions of seconds. So it made sense that when he realized what was really important to him, and realized he might have lost it all, his mind started applying his usual standards of measurement to the events that made up the tragedy. For example:

It was four hours and fifty-seven minutes after the earthquake that Rin learned about it.

He would have learned about the earthquake approximately forty-two seconds after it ended if he'd just picked up his damned phone.

Rin hated himself for that so much over the next week. He fought back angry tears at the thought of his baby sister, scared and alone, trying to call him, and him never answering. When he saw it was her, he sent her call straight to voicemail then turned off his phone.

"Brother, please pick up. Please. I just . . . I just want to hear your voice." That was the first and only message Gou left him. Two minutes later, she started sending him texts.

**Cell network down. Can't get calls. Please text back.**

** Please? I'm scared.**

**I need to know you're there.**

** I'm not alone now. Haru found me. Looking for the others.**

**Love you.**

Fifty-four minutes after the earthquake ended, the tsunami struck. It was small as far as tsunamis went, or so said the geologists on the news. That meant absolutely nothing to Rin, who hadn't heard from his sister since.

But it wasn't until four hours and six minutes after that damn tsunami that he actually learned she was missing.

* * *

"Hey, Matsuoka!"

Rin sent a bored look toward the other students. They were both native Australians and pronounced his name wrong. "What?"

"You're Japanese, right?"

Obviously, thought Rin, but he told them politely, okay, maybe a little impatiently, "Yeah."

"You're not from near that place though, right?"

Oh no, don't bother being specific. I'll just read your mind and find out where you mean, Rin thought at them. But he asked, "What place?"

"Where that earthquake hit."

Dark, instinctual fear gripped Rin right then. The fear that any sensible person has of natural disasters that frequently affect the areas they live in, or lived in at one time. His little sister's face flashed through his mind, quickly followed by his childhood friends.

"Earthquake? What earthquake?" he asked, and was proud how steady his voice came out.

"That huge one that hit Japan today."

"What island?" asked Rin. "What prefecture?"

"Hell if I know. You must not be from there. Well, that's good. Because the tsunami that followed the quake wiped a whole town off the map."

Then the dick laughed. He laughed like it was funny that thousands of people lost their lives and homes. Rin clenched his fist. He almost hit the other student, but stopped himself. It wouldn't do to get so worked up.

Instead he looked at the bastards like they were scum. His glower actually startled them so they stopped laughing and beat a hasty retreat. Then Rin took out his phone and turned it back on.

He remembered that call from Gou that he sent to voicemail.

But there was nothing unusual about that.

It didn't mean anything.

Gou called him every day, usually multiple times. And he almost always ignored her calls.

Rin saw that he had one missed call and five missed texts. He didn't know if that was good or bad. It would be lying to say that his hand didn't shake as he played his message and held the phone to his ear.

"Brother," said Gou, and Rin heard a warble of fear in her tone, "please pick up. Please. I just . . . I just want to hear your voice."

No. No, no, no. Please, no, prayed Rin. He checked his texts. He knew then it had been Iwatobi that was hit but he still held some hope that he was wrong. Gou's texts crushed that hope. They weren't specific. They didn't confirm it beyond a shadow of doubt or say what had happened in so many words, but given the context . . . there was no way they meant anything else.

**Cell network down. Can't get calls. Please text back.**

** Please? I'm scared.**

** I need to know you're there.**

** I'm not alone now. Haru found me. Looking for the others.**

**Love you.**

Rin immediately dialed her number. He didn't give a damn about international call charges. He wanted to talk to his little sister. That last text sounded far too ominous. Rin wouldn't even deny how scared he was now. He could feel sweat beading below his hairline and both his hands were shaking now.

His call didn't go through.

He tried again. And again. Seven times.

Then he typed a text with quaking fingers.

**Just heard what happened. You OK?**

Twenty seconds passed without a reply. Each one felt like an hour.

Then he sent another text.

**Answer me.**

But she didn't answer. He even waited forty-five seconds this time.

Rin wanted to be mad. Well, he guessed he was mad. But not at her. Not at his baby sister.

**Please be OK.**

Only two seconds later, he sent another text, saying what he should have said in his first one, what he should have picked up the phone just to say when she called him earlier that day.

**I love you.**

Calls to Makoto and Nagisa didn't go through either, and texts to them went unanswered as well. Rin desperately wanted to call or text Haru, but he didn't have his ex-friend's number. He wasn't even sure Haru had a phone.

**I'm not alone now. Haru found me. Looking for the others.**

That gave Rin hope for his sister. Haru might not seem like it, but Rin knew he was a dependable guy. If he found Gou, then he was taking care of her. And he knew that Gou had survived the earthquake. The tsunami . . . he had no way of knowing if she survived that. But if she'd been with Haru . . . It was ridiculous to think that Haru could swim through a tsunami and save himself, let alone someone who'd be little better than dead weight. But somehow Rin thought that maybe . . . maybe . . .

He prayed that it was true. Or better yet, that Haru had gotten Gou away from the danger, and the dangerous water didn't come close to his baby sister. But . . . they'd gone looking for the others. Had they stopped to think about a tsunami at all? Stupid, stupid . . . they hadn't had they?

**Love you.**

Her last text seemed so ominous. So final. Like she was expecting it to be the last thing she ever said to him. And like she didn't have much time to type it. Her messages were usually longer. She didn't keep them blunt and to the point, or cut out words when she didn't have to. It was almost like she'd seen some danger coming, and rapidly typed off that text, realizing it might be the last thing she ever did . . .

* * *

so what do you think? this is the first thing i've written in years so i'm not sure if it's any good. please r/r and let me know if you want me to continue or if you see how i can improve. if nothing else, writing this was fun and i think i might keep going and try to get better lol


	2. Chapter 2

It was three days before Rin was able to get a flight to Japan. Seventy-two hours of fear, and dread, and trying to get ahold of someone, anyone, who might know what happened to his baby sister, or his friends. None of his calls went through. Many flights were canceled on account of the natural disaster. The one Rin finally managed to catch landed on the opposite end of the island Iwatobi was on. Rin had to catch a train to get closer, but the trains going straight to Iwatobi had all been diverted too. He ended up at one of the relief camps, a half hour's drive from his childhood home, and found the roads into the town were blocked too, with only government approved vehicles being allowed past.

He still hadn't heard from his sister, or any of his old friends.

Not knowing what had happened to them or if they were dead or alive was tearing him apart inside. He felt cold in a way he'd never felt before, and every time his cell phone rang he broke out into sweat. Having gone this long with no word was making him fear the worst.

At the relief camp, he tried checking the roster of survivors. What he found was not encouraging. His sister, his friends, none of them were on the lists.

"It doesn't mean they're not alright," the volunteer with the lists told him. "These aren't complete by any means, and there are two other camps. We don't have their lists yet. Everything is so chaotic right now. It's taking time to put it all together."

Rin stormed away without a word before he punched her. He knew his anger was irrational. The lady hadn't done anything wrong. But he was so furious right now, at everyone and everything. Himself most of all.

I should have been here. I should have answered my phone. I should have been a better brother. I should have been a better friend.

I deserve this.

But they didn't. It's not fair.

There was a wall fence set up, covered in cardboard, where people were pinning messages and notes. Rin continued his search there, after wiping away the tears that were blurring his vision. He wasn't actually crying. Rin guessed that was just more proof that he was a rotten person. The tears just stood in his eyes, making them glassy, but didn't really fall.

Nothing on the wall suggested to him that his friends or sister had been there, or that they were alive at all. Rin was about to ask someone how to get to one of the other relief camps when a familiar voice reached his ears.

"Please. Just let me die."

_Nagisa!_

"Nagisa!" shouted Rin and ran in the direction the voice had come from. "Nagisa!"

He stumbled when he saw his small friend, on a stretcher being carried by two rescue workers, away from an ambulance that had just arrived.

"Please stop. Please." Nagisa's voice was so full of pain that a lump grew in Rin's throat. Nagisa wasn't supposed to sound like that. Nagisa was airy and light. He wasn't supposed to look like that, so weak and pale.

"Nagisa! Nagisa!" Rin was frantic now, tearing past people to reach his friends. Another of the rescue workers caught him before he reached Nagisa. "Nagisa! That's my friend! Let go, or I swear, I'll –"

"Calm down, sir. Your friend is badly hurt."

"I can see that! Let go of me!" Rin screamed.

"Not until I know you won't charge into him and hurt him worse!"

His words reached Rin, who forced himself to calm down. "You're right. I'm sorry. But please."

The man loosened his hold on Rin, but kept a grip on his arm. "Your friend's in a bad way. We found him crushed in the wreckage of his house. Both his hips are broken, his pelvis is crushed, and most of his ribs are cracked. He's dehydrated and in more pain than you can imagine."

"What can I do?" asked Rin. "How can I help him?"

"His injuries are worse than we can treat here. In the morning, he'll be transferred to a hospital in Tokyo. It might do him good if you could sit with him tonight," the man said. "He seems to be under the impression that all of his friends are dead."

It took them twenty minutes to settle Nagisa into a partitioned off section of space in the makeshift hospital. 1200 seconds that Rin stood by feeling guilty and soulless while Nagisa was fitted with a new IV and a morphine drip. Finally, they let Rin through to see him. He went to the smaller boy's side immediately, and dropped down beside the sterile white futon they'd laid him on.

"Nagisa?"

Nagisa's eyes looked dead, but when he heard Rin's voice, something sparked in them. "Rin . . . chan?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. It's me." A stupid thing to say, Rin knew. He couldn't help it. He'd never felt so stupid and helpless. "Are you . . ."

He didn't even know how to end that question. What had he been thinking, asking if Nagisa was okay? He clearly was not!

"Rin-chan," Nagisa said again, and gave a dry sob.

"Shhh. Don't cry," Rin said, his voice breaking.

"I . . . can't . . . help . . . it. My friends . . . they're all dead, Rin-chan. My team."

"How do you know that?" asked Rin, taking Nagisa's hand in his own, more roughly than he should have. "How could you possibly know that?"

Nagisa's eyes looked dead again. "Because no one came for me."

"Nagisa . . ."

"If they were alive, they would have come to find me," said Nagisa, his voice breaking on almost every word. "But no one came. I waited for days. If they were alive, they would never have left me there."

"Quiet, you," said Rin. "You don't know anything after all. Did you ever think that maybe something kept them from getting to you?"

"No."

"I'm sure that's what it was," Rin tried to persuade him. "They might have been trapped somewhere too. Or in one of the other camps, but can't move because of injuries. Or something. And Makoto's got his siblings to look after. They're not letting people into Iwatobi, so once he got those kids out, he couldn't have gotten back in. And Haru . . . I know he found Gou after the quake. He must have gotten her out and couldn't get back in either."

"No," said Nagisa, his voice dead. "Even if they got out, they would have come back for me."

"They couldn't have. They're not letting people back in, Nagisa."

"We're the Iwatobi trespassing club. Or at least we were. Do you think that would have stopped them?" demanded Nagisa.

"Nagisa –"

"They wouldn't have abandoned a friend! They're not you!"

That stung so much Rin physically recoiled. He dropped Nagisa's hand like it was a hot coal.

"I'm sorry," said Nagisa instantly. "I'm sorry, Rin-chan. I didn't mean it. Please, don't go. Please –"

"I won't go," said Rin. "I'll stay with you tonight."

"And tomorrow?"

"I'm going to find my sister. And the others. Haru and Makoto."

"Keep an eye out for Rei-chan for me?" asked Nagisa.

"Who?" Rin asked, before realizing who Nagisa had to be talking about. The replacement.

"Our newest teammate. Our butterfly," Nagisa said.

"I'll keep an eye out for him too," Rin promised.

"You won't find them in the other camps."

"I might."

"You won't."

"I have to at least check there, Nagisa," said Rin.

Nagisa just looked at him. There was so much sorrow and heartbreak in that gaze that Rin felt something die inside him too.

"I can't give up on them, Nagisa. I can't accept that they're dead until . . . I just can't accept that."

"I want to believe you're right, Rin-chan," said Nagisa. His breath hitched and he gave another dry sob. "But I'm not strong enough anymore."

"Hush. You're stronger than you know." You always have been.

"I'm not. There's nothing left of me without my friends," cried Nagisa. "I don't want to live without them. I don't want to be alone."

Rin squeezed his hand, then knelt so that his face was closer to Nagisa's. "You won't be alone. Whatever I find, I swear to you, you won't be alone."

"But without Haru-chan, and Mako-chan, and Rei-chan, and Gou-chan –"

"You've still got me," said Rin.

Nagisa looked at him with a question in his eyes.

"I'm back. For good this time," Rin told him.

Nagisa smiled. His first smile since Rin found him. There was nothing happy about it. He looked like any second, he might burst into tears. But Rin thought that Nagisa was at least a little bit pleased.

"You should try to sleep," said Rin. He laid a (hopefully) soothing hand on Nagisa's forehead, then ran it through the younger teen's sweat-stiff and grimy hair. "You need your rest."

"Rin-chan should rest too," said Nagisa. "You need your strength for your search. You can share my bed."

"No. I don't want to move in my sleep and accidentally hurt you. I'll sleep off to the side, here. It'll be fine."

Nagisa's eyelids fluttered, then he gave up the fight to stay conscious and closed them. "I hope you find them, Rin-chan."

"Me too, Nagisa." He laid down beside his friend, but on the cool concrete floor, using his backpack as a pillow. The whole time he kept hold of Nagisa's hand.

"I'm glad you're back, Rin-chan," muttered Nagisa right before he drifted off. "We all missed you."

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thank you to Salty Pretzels, Akiko Natsuko, Chinkonka, CAMEO1 and Only, and Nerdinaction for reviewing! i hope you like this chapter too! i hope rin's not too occ. but we've seen he's actualy pretty gentle with nitori, so if nagisa was that hurt i don't think he would be his usual callous self, do you? it's a little funny (but cute!) how he's so nice to his roommate.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, sometime before sunrise, Rin awoke to the sound of Nagisa sobbing in pain. Dry sobbing. Like the night before, the smaller boy still seemed too dehydrated to muster any tears.

"It hurts," he cried, squeezing Rin's hand with pathetically little strength. "It hurts so much."

"I'm sorry," Rin kept saying, again and again. "I'm so sorry, Nagisa."

Their noise brought a doctor, who gave Nagisa some pain killers, but they didn't seem to be as good as the ones Nagisa had received the night before, because the smaller teen kept crying and shaking, right up until some other medics came to prep Nagisa for transport to Tokyo some hours later.

"Find them." That was the last thing Nagisa told Rin. "Find them, please. I want us all to be together again. So please, find them."

Once he was gone, Rin was left feeling just as empty as he had before he found his friend. He was glad that Nagisa was alive, don't get me wrong. He was so glad that at least one of his friends had survived this disaster. But he was like Nagisa. He wanted them all to be together again.

To be honest, Rin was scared. Nagisa hadn't been wrong the night before, when he said that his friends wouldn't have abandoned him. Rin didn't know the replacement well enough to speculate on what he would or wouldn't do, but he knew that Haru, Makoto, and even Gou would never have left Nagisa alone, trapped in the rubble of his house. Not if there was any way they could physically get to him. A little thing like the government trying to keep people out of Iwatobi wouldn't have stopped them.

Which meant . . . which meant they were either hurt so badly that they hadn't been able to make it to Nagisa . . . or worse.

Rin managed to catch a ride with some volunteers who were delivering supplies to all three relief camps to the next closest camp. It was gloomy, and raining. That reflected Rin's mood pretty well, but somehow it seemed foreboding too.

It had been four days since the earthquake now. Ninety-six hours since he'd last heard from his little sister. 5760 minutes not knowing if she, Haru, or Makoto were dead or alive. The thought of any of them trapped somewhere like Nagisa had been, needing help, made Rin feel physically sick. He had to find them, and fast.

He searched the second camp for seven hours and found nothing. 25200 wasted seconds. It took another two hours to hitchhike to the final camp. Then, after only another twenty minutes of searching, he found Makoto.

His name was on the camp's list of hospitalized refugees, but his condition wasn't written down. Rin's heart was in his mouth as he raced to the makeshift hospital. It took him two minutes and seventeen seconds to cover the distance. It took another four minutes and fifty-three seconds to actually find his friend.

Makoto was asleep when Rin entered his "room." Asleep, or unconscious. There were bandages wrapped around his head, and some of his hair had clearly been cut away to accommodate for them. Like Nagisa, he was in a curtained off area of a much larger room, on a bedroll spread out on the ground. Rin crept closer and knelt down beside him. "Makoto?"

Makoto's eyes opened slowly. "Who's there?"

"It's me," Rin said.

Makoto's face turned toward him. But his eyes didn't focus on Rin's face. In fact, they were strangely blank.

"Makoto . . . you . . . you're . . ."

"Who are you?" asked Makoto again.

"It's me. Rin," he said, feeling like someone had just twisted a knife in his stomach. Makoto didn't recognize him by voice alone. He would have once. Years ago. Back when they were friends. But now . . .

"Rin?" Makoto's voice grew almost frantic. "Is Gou alright? Have you heard from Haru or Nagisa? Or Rei?"

"Nagisa's alive," Rin said, starting with the good news. "He's . . . he was moved to a hospital in Tokyo today. But he's going to be fine."

Rin had to believe that was true.

"Nagisa. He's really going to be okay?" A little bit of relief filtered into Makoto's expression. "That's great. But the others?"

"I haven't found them yet," said Rin. And by "them" he meant Gou and Haru. The hell if he was going to waste one precious second looking for the replacement. But Makoto didn't need to know that. "I'm still looking. But Makoto . . . your eyes. Are you –"

"Blind?" Makoto's voice took on a sad tone. "Yes. I'm afraid so."

"Is it permanent?"

"I don't know." Makoto's smile was like Nagisa's had been, so full of pain. "The doctors don't have the equipment to tell here, and there are many people who need to be taken to the hospitals in other cities more than I do."

"But it's your sight on the line," protested Rin. "If they can save it –"

"It's just my sight," Makoto said. "It's a small thing compared to a life."

"But – Makoto, that's just –"

"I'm luckier than many. I'm alive. My mom, my dad, my siblings, and at least one of my closest friends all survived the quake as well. Where have you looked for Haru, Gou, and Rei?" Makoto asked.

Rin pushed down his anger. He couldn't yell at Makoto. Not about this. Not now. "The other two camps. I just got here and found out you were here. I came straight here, so I haven't searched the whole camp yet, but –"

"They're not here. Ran and Ren are keeping track of everyone who comes into camp. If Haru, Gou, or Rei had made it, they would have brought them straight to me. Or if they couldn't, come to let me know they were here at least," said Makoto.

It was strange to talk to his friend who had once been able to say so much with just his eyes. With just a look he could convey how much he cared about each and every one of his friends. Now those eyes were unfocused and blank. It was almost more than Rin could stand.

"How did it happen, Makoto?" asked Rin. He wasn't very specific, but Makoto knew what he meant.

"I hit my head," Makoto told him. "I was outside during the earthquake. On the sidewalk. A streetlight fell over. I had the misfortune of being right underneath it. Everything went dark. When I woke up it was still dark. But I was with my family, on my way here. You remember Coach Goro? He found me and got me back to my parents, while I was unconscious. He saved my life. We got out before the tsunami hit."

"I'm sorry," Rin whispered.

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

There was a lot Rin had to be sorry for. Chief on that list was not being a better brother or friend. He wished that he had been here. He knew it was irrational. There was nothing he could have done if he had been here during the quake but . . . but just being there was what would have mattered.

"I don't know where else to look," he said, feeling hopelessness start to overtake him. "I've searched all three camps. I don't know where to find Gou and Haru. All I know is they were together during the tsunami, but –"

"What?" asked Makoto. "You've heard from them?"

Rin told him about the call he missed from Gou, and her subsequent texts.

"So they went looking for us," Makoto said when he was finished. "Hold on. Give me a minute."

"Does your head hurt? Should I get a doctor?"

"No. I'm just . . . trying to think. The quake struck while I was on my way to school. I was heading toward Haru's house, but I hadn't gone far," said Makoto. "Haru would have still been at home when it happened. And Gou . . . her house isn't far from mine. When the quake was over, Haru would have gone to my house first, I think. Under normal circumstances, it takes twenty minutes to walk there from Haru's house. If you run, you might be able to do it in half the time. But let's assume Haru was going at a rushed walk. He would have gotten there about fifteen minutes after the quake ended. My parents must have evacuated us in that time, so the house was empty when Haru got there. He would have spent maybe five minutes confirming that we weren't there. So, that's about twenty minutes right there.

"Gou's house is the next closest, so he would have gone to her, I think."

"Hold on. Isn't, I mean, wasn't Nagisa's house closer?" asked Rin.

"No. Not anymore. Nagisa moved across town and further inland. From what I heard, the tsunami didn't reach the part of town where he and Rei live. I think Haru would have started that way after finding Gou. And it would have taken him between fifteen and twenty minutes to find her. So about forty minutes after the quake they were at Gou's house."

"Was that part of town hit by the tsunami? Do you know?" asked Rin.

"It was," said Makoto. "At least that's what they've told me."

Rin could hold back a dry sob.

"They would have been heading toward Nagisa's house, though –"

"But they never made it there," Rin said miserably.

"You don't know that."

"I do," shouted Rin. "I know that because Nagisa was trapped in the rubble of his house for days. If they'd made it there, they would have helped him. Since they didn't . . . since they didn't . . ."

Suddenly he couldn't breathe.

"Rin." Makoto reached for him and managed to catch a handful of his jacket. "You don't know what happened to them. You don't know for sure that they're –"

"Dead?" cried Rin. "What else could have happened? Gou's last text . . . and I haven't heard from her since. Four days, Makoto. Four days. They should have made it to one of the camps by now. They would have made it to Nagisa a long time ago. But they didn't. So they're . . . they have to be. No. Please, no. Someone tell me this isn't happening."

"Rin! Listen to me. You can't give up on them," said Makoto.

"How can I hold on to hope when . . . when . . ."

"You don't give up on your friends, Rin," said Mako firmly. "And you never give up on your family."

Rin buried his face in his hands.

"It will be alright. I truly believe that, Rin. The universe never gives you more than you can handle."

"It already has, Makoto," Rin said with hitched breath. "It's given all of us too much. If Gou and Haru are dead . . . I won't be able to do this. I just can't –"

"You have to stop thinking like that, Rin."

"But I –"

"You're healthy and whole. You can still go and look for them. Nagisa and I can't. So it falls to you," said Makoto. "So don't you give up on them. They never gave up on you."

They should have. Rin had been anything but a good friend, or a good brother. He didn't know how Makoto could even stand the sight of him now . . . er . . . not that Makoto could see anything. Bad way of phrasing it. He didn't know why Makoto even tolerated his presence.

A sick thought occurred to Rin. Maybe Makoto didn't want him here. Maybe he was just being overly polite as always. Maybe Rin's mere presence was distressing him but he was too well mannered to show it.

"I should leave you to get some rest," said Rin, backing away. "You . . . I don't . . . I'm sorry."

"Rin . . ."

"For whatever it's worth, I am so sorry, Makoto. I –"

When Makoto caught his arm and pulled him toward him, he didn't resist. He let the larger teen embrace him, and found himself sobbing.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, Rin. Let it all out. You don't have to pretend like you can shoulder this all alone."

Rin couldn't speak anymore. All he could do was cry. The dread and fear of the past four days had finally gotten to be too much. He was falling apart and he knew it. Makoto was the only one keeping him from falling completely to pieces. Pathetic. Makoto had more reason than just about anyone to be breaking down himself, yet here he was, comforting Rin, while he himself was stuck in what might be eternal darkness. But Rin couldn't seem to find the strength to man up and pull himself together. All he could do was cry against Makoto's chest like a child, while Makoto kept his strong arms wrapped around him tight.

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next time: more familiar faces! but not the end yet. there's still room for more moe moments!

sorry again if rin's ooc. my reasoning is that you can only face so much despair and deadends in a situation like that before your hope starts crumbling, no matter how strong you are. but luckily for rin, mako-chan was there to hold the pieces together for him. even though he's in a bad way himself. but you knew something bad had to happened to keep him and the others to keep from finding nagisa. which begs the question: what happened to rei, gou, and haru?

thank you CAMEO1 and Only, PinkSugarDust, imperativa, Salty Pretzels, Nerdinaction, lightwingsx3, Chinkonka, Sapine, Ri-Ryn, Magiccatprincess, Nana19, Stormgirl415, Yui-chan'starrysky, and the two guests, who reviewed!


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you to Chinkonka, Stormgirl415, CAMEO1 and Only, Salty Pretzels, lightwingsx3, sailorjupiter253, PinkSugarDust, Nerdinaction, Do You Really Know Me, Nerocchi, Wow, Lanessa29, akito, sub.C, and the two Guests who reviewed!

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"Mako-chan's . . . alive?" Nagisa's voice was fuzzy from painkillers and static on the telephone line, but there was no mistaking the wonder in his voice.

"He's alive. But he's blind now," said Rin. "The doctors here can't tell him if his sight will come back or not."

"But he's alive? He's really alive?" There were tears in Nagisa's voice now. Strange as it was, Rin was glad to hear that. It meant Nagisa was hydrated enough to cry again. He was in better shape than he'd been in yesterday. And he'd had the worst of his wounds seen to now. It would be a long time before he would be able to walk again, but he was going to be okay.

It had taken Rin until now to get ahold of his younger friend on the phone. He'd tried the night before, but he'd still been in surgery. So he'd spent the time searching through the camp, despite Makoto's assurances that Gou and Haru weren't there. He wasn't really surprised when he didn't find any trace of his friends, but he'd had to look anyway.

"He's really alive. And he's going to be fine." As long as we find Haru. Rin left that unspoken, but he knew it was true. Makoto hadn't given up on his best friend yet. If Rin knew him, he wouldn't give up for a long time, far past what any normal person would. But he was worried what would happen if they never found Haru. Because Makoto might never give up. There came a point when hope ceased to be a good thing. Rin swore to himself that he'd find Haru and Gou before it came to that for Makoto.

"I'm so happy," cried Nagisa. "My friend's alive. I'm so happy. You know, Mako-chan . . . he was always like a big brother to me. And Mako-chan thinks Haru-chan and Rei-chan, and Gou are still alive too?"

"Yes. And we haven't given up on finding them."

"Thank you, Rin-chan. Oh, the nurse is saying I have to put down the phone."

"Okay. You take care of yourself, you hear?" said Rin.

"You too. Bye for now."

"We'll talk again soon," Rin promised. When he turned off his phone, he took a look around. While talking, he'd wandered to the camp's entrance. Time to turn back and head back to Makoto. He was out of ideas now and wanted to hear if Makoto had come up with any for finding Gou and Haru. Okay, and Rei too, but Gou and Haru were Rin's priorities.

Just as he was about to turn back, a familiar voice stopped him.

"Ah! Matsuoka-sempai!"

Rin recognized the voice of his former roommate, but could hardly recognize the form it came from. Nitori wore his Samezuka jacket, but over it was some kind of safety vest, in that dayglow lime color that road workers wore. His silver hair was covered by an orange hard helmet, and he was streaked with grime from head to toe, his boots and pants splashed with so much mud you couldn't tell what color his pants had been originally. Only the area around his eyes was relatively clean, probably thanks to the swimming goggles that were now hanging around his neck.

"Nitori?"

"It is you! You came back!" Nitori hurried forward, with uncharacteristic boldness, and gave Rin a hug.

"Nitori, what are you doing here?" Samezuka was a good ways from Iwatobi, and from what Rin heard, they hadn't been affected by the earthquake or tsunami. "And why are you dressed like that?"

"We're volunteering as rescue workers."

"We?"

"All of us," Nitori said. "The whole team."

"The whole swim team?" Rin wasn't sure if he could believe his ears or not. "Mikoshiba decided this?"

That was just the kind of thing Mikoshiba would do. He was that kind of guy.

Nitori shook his head. "It was Captain Mikoshiba's idea, but he didn't make it mandatory. Everyone came because they wanted to."

Rin wasn't sure why that felt like a knife twisting in his gut.

"We've been looking particularly for Gou-san, and Nanase-san's team. Is your sister –"

"I can't find her," said Rin. "I haven't found her or Haru yet. Nagisa was taken to a hospital in Tokyo, and Makoto's here in the hospital part of this camp. But I can't find Gou or Haru."

He managed to keep his voice from cracking, but only barely.

"I'm sorry, Matsuoka-sempai. But I do have some good news for you! We just found Ryugazaki-san."

Rin stared at him. "Who?"

"Ryugazaki-san," repeated Nitori. When the name got no recognition, he elaborated. "Ryugazaki Rei. Iwatobi's butterfly swimmer? The one who couldn't swim when we first met him."

Rin felt cold. "Him. You found him?"

"Yes. Come on, I'll take you to him."

Nitori began walking quickly and Rin followed, feeling his anger growing with every step, as he noticed they weren't going to the hospital portion of the camp. Which most likely meant that Rei was not horribly injured and incapable of moving. Which was the only excuse for him not finding Nagisa and digging him out of the rubble of his house.

Rin's shoulders started to shake with rage. Ryugazaki Rei was going to have some explaining to do.

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	5. Chapter 5

Thank you to Nana19, Stormgirl415, lightwingsx3, CAMEO1 and Only, subC, Lady Artemist, HoNk, DuctTapePegasus, sayaneko-chan, and the Guest who reviewed!

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"You have to let me go back!"

"Sorry, but I can't."

"I'm not asking for permission! Let go!"

That was the conversation that Rin ran up on with Nitori leading the way. The words, and the sight before him stopped him in his tracks. All the angry words he'd been preparing, all the insults and rage melted away because Ryugazaki Rei looked like hell.

"You can't even walk on your own," Mikoshiba said to him. "You have no business wandering around a disaster zone in your condition."

"But Nagisa is still out there!"

"I'm sorry, but even if you find him, do you think you can help him?" Mikoshiba had his hands pressed down on Rei's shoulders to keep him from trying to stand. "You've got a broken leg and a broken arm. You shouldn't even be walking –"

"My friends are missing! I can't stay here and do nothing!" screamed Rei.

At first Rin could only stare at him. He knew he should be talking and telling him what he knew to put Rei's mind at ease. But Rei just looked so wretched, Rin couldn't help but stare.

Like Mikoshiba said, Rei's arm and leg were broken. He had casts on both, and his arm was in a sling. The cast on his leg was filthy from being splattered with so much mud. His arm wasn't much better. It looked like he'd been rolling in the mud. He'd obviously been wearing the same thing for several days in a row, because his jacket was so grimy you couldn't tell what its original color was, and everything he wore was between damp and soaked from the rain and mud. There was a deep cut on his cheek that probably needed stitches and looked like it had been reopened several times. His glasses were cracked on one side.

"They might have been found by now," said Mikoshiba. "Just sit tight, I'll get someone to check on the lists again, alright?"

"It's not alright! Nagisa –"

"Nagisa's alive."

All eyes turned toward Rin.

"He's in a hospital in Tokyo. And Makoto is here, at this camp. They both survived," said Rin.

"Matsuoka?" asked Mikoshiba, clearly not believing his eyes.

"Rin-san?" asked Rei. He blinked. "Nagisa's alive?"

"And Makoto."

"I knew Makoto was –"

"Then why the hell didn't you go see him!" demanded Rin.

"I sent him a text when I found out he was alive!"

"Fat lot of good that does him since he's fucking gone blind!"

_"What?"_

"Oi, Matsuoka, cool down," ordered Mikoshiba, standing between him and Rei. "I mean it, Matsuoka. Calm down now."

Rin blinked at his former captain then bowed his head. "Sorry. I just . . . Gou's still missing. And Haru."

"Makoto-sempai is blind?" asked Rei in a trembling voice.

"Yeah. We don't know if it's permanent or not. But he's alive."

"I didn't know he was blind," said Rei. "I just . . . I checked the rosters of all three camps. I sent him a text to let him know I was alright, then I went to look for Nagisa."

"Isn't this the second time you've been drug back to one of the camps because someone found you collapsed in the street?" asked one of Samezuka's other swimmers who'd been listening in.

"Yes, but . . . I was looking for my friends! It's not just my right but my responsibility to try and find them!" said Rei.

"No," said Rin, "right now it's your responsibility to let the ones we've already found know you're alright. And to stay with them and take care of yourself, because you're not helping anyone ruining your leg and crippling yourself."

"I'm not –"

"Makoto didn't know you were alright. You need to go see him. Then you're going to stay with him. But first you're going to call Nagisa," ordered Rin. He thrust his phone into Rei's grimy hand.

"But Gou and Haru –"

"I'm here now, and I'm taking responsibility for finding them," said Rin flatly.

"But –"

"Gou is my sister. Haru's my childhood friend. I'm going to find them. You're going to stay here and take care of Makoto. Or I'm going to break your other leg, so you won't have a choice," said Rin.

"Tone it down again, Matsuoka," Mikoshiba warned, but without any heat. Probably because Rin hadn't spoken in an overly threatening way. Rin guessed Mikoshiba didn't know that he'd actually meant what he said. It was probably best to keep it that way.

"Call Nagisa," ordered Rin. "His was the last number I dialed, so just hit recall."

Rei nodded, and Rin could tell from the look of exhaustion on his face that he was acquiescing to more than just the order to call Nagisa.

"It's good to see you again, Matsuoka," said Mikoshiba as Rei made the call. "I wish it was under better circumstances. And I'm sorry Gou-kun hasn't been found yet."

"Let me come with you," said Rin. "I have to get into Iwatobi. I have to find my sister."

Mikoshiba didn't argue. Rin didn't expect him to. Mikoshiba was a decent guy. Not the kind to hold grudges or flaunt his authority. He was the kind of guy who saw things very clearly.

Rin needed to find his sister. Mikoshiba had the means to get him where he needed to go.

Nothing more needed to be said.

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